Ten Songs before Dinner
by Snowbird18
Summary: Mandy, orphaned since age five, is sent to live with her Great-uncle. In her new life, she will rediscover what it means to be loved, and perhaps, be able to see the magic of the world lost to her tragic childhood aswell. ChaseXoc. May go M later chapters


**Ten Songs before Dinner**

_Disclaimer: __I do not own any Harvest Moon material used in this story. That honner belongs to the proper owners and creators._

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Prologue

_"Death is not the end. Death can never be the end._

_Death is the road. Life is the traveler. The soul is the guide."_

_- Sri Chinmoy_

The clock that hung from the tall metal pole lamp, struck seven with a brilliant chiming that early summer day. A roost of pigeons, that had been perched on the station building roof nearly all that morning, suddenly fluttered off into the air like blown paper at the sounding of chime. People waiting out on the shuttle station that day looked up from their mild conversations and newspapers, startled at the shower of dingy colored feathers. Some people looked down at their own wrist watches and then down the tracks, hoping to see their transport in close sights.

A bell from the nearby rail crossing gate began to clang not a moment too soon, and the red striped wood brigades began to lower on both sides of where the road overlapped the tracks. A young person's excited shrills broke through the muttering of the assorted crowd, and in the distance two successive bellowing's of a train horn sounded. The sound echoed loud in ears and seemed to blast straight down the backbones of those with a more sensitive disposition.

People of every sort began to pick up their possessions, drifting a bit closer to the boarding line with animated expressions and eager chattering. Enthralled children were pushing forward as well, scrambling between legs and belongings to catch the performance of the shuttle's arrival. As the shuttle pulled closer to the station, the clicketing sound of the train slowed.

When the shuttle finally came to a complete stop, the entries on the platform side of the train mechanically began to open all down the line. With the doors monitored by shuttle hands, passengers who had reached their destination began to filter from the train with their things. People waiting on the platform stepped back and away, and hurried their children out of the way of those coming from the train cars.

One little girl though, stubbornly stood her ground to the on-flow of stir-crazy passengers, despite the scowls and bitter shooing she was receiving. She didn't have any reason to stand where she was. It was only the fact that people wanted her moved that she felt compelled to challenge them. In fact, she returned the gestures with bravado, shooting raspberries, and even kicking a large woman in the shin who tried to nudge her out of her way.

A man in a bright blue jacket, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, jumped out just in time to pull the fierce girl away from the large woman, who seemed like she would have smacked the girl if he hadn't done so. He scooped up the girl with one arm, nodding an apology to the woman who smiled a fake, rigid half-grin at him as she briskly stalked away trialing a suitcase and a slur of profanities behind her.

"Pu'me down, papa, pu'me down! I can take her!"

The little girl in the man's arms squirmed and kicked as the man weaved his way through the restless crowd. Swerving to keep his daughter from clocking someone in the jaw with her flailing limbs, he made his way back over to a lopsided green bench by the station ticket window. His wife was slumped on the bench next to her daughter's backpack and lunch, apparently asleep despite the fair amount of commotion.

Mrs. Morita's tottering head was leaned up against the cool brick wall of the station and her neatly pulled back blond hair was loosening with the breeze, freeing blonde wisps to quiver in the wake of her soft breathing. By the time her husband made it back to the bench, his daughter was halfway free of his hold. Her shirt was scrunched way up her torso, almost over her head, pinning her arms above her with it. He plopped her onto the bench in a seated position which she evidently tried to get up from. Grabbing her by the shirt, her father pulled down on it till her little head popped back through the neck hole.

As soon as her head was free the young child darted up with youthful energy and began to jump up and down upon the bench making it squeak each time her small feet collided with it.

"Hey Mammaaaa! Mammaaa! Look, the train! Mammaaaa! Wake up!"

An old woman on the opposite side of the bench looked up scowling though her intensely magnified round rimmed glasses. It made her look a bit like a frightened owl. Mr. Morita pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head away to hide his reddening cheeks, feeling rather embarrassed by the scrutinizing look of the elder as his child shook the bench from under her.

After but a moment of bench stomping, the resting blond mother's eyes shot open just in time for her to react to an enthusiastic little girl flinging herself at her lap. The mother caught the girl in her arms, pulled her into a tight squeeze, and then kissing her on the forehead, set her to the ground as she stood up.

"The train you say, Baby?" she yawned ruffling her daughter's short pixie cut hair, holding onto her small hand with the other. "Are you excited?"

The child squinted at her mother suddenly taking on a serious look.

"Yeah, bu' I wan'a drive the train..."

Mrs. Morita laughed lighted brushing her thumb against her ear with a soft motherly touch, and a loving gaze appearing as her eyes swept across her childs pink face.

The young girl looked like a tiny version of her mother with even the same dirty blond hair, and grey eyes with just a slight tint of green. The only apparent thing she inherited from her half Japanese father was his prominent jaw line, which her mother lacked almost completely.

"Erin, I though you said that you were going to watch Mandy while I took that phone call...I found her over by the train by herself…" Mr. Morita sighed exasperatedly, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose so that they nestled comfortably between his brows. He hoped that she could tell by his expression what she had put him through. The quirky look in Mrs. Morita eyes said she needn't be told. The wife quickly tilted her chin up, giving her husband a soft peck on the lips, despite the muttering about cooties from the child on her arm.

"I'm sorry Kato, honey, but you know that I was up almost all last night with her! She was just so excited to start school that I just couldn't get her to go to bed. Oh well, she has a bit of an independent streak doesn't she? We'll never have to worry about her being clingy."

Her free hand lingered on the side of his face, softly stroking the brown five 'o'clock shadow coming in along his jaw until he took her hand in one of his own. He pressed her palm to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on it before letting it go with a squeeze and a mildly humorous smile.

"I just don't want to imagine what her teen years may be like..."

Mr. Morita felt a tug on his jacket and looked down to see his child staring up at him with a sour expression.

"It's not nice to talk 'bout me when I'm right next to you, Papa! And plus also, I'm not going to ever grow up. Not ever!" She stated very mater-of-fact. She scrunched her nose and crossed her arms making a childish "Humph" sound to clear her point.

Mr. Morita let out a breathy chuckle, and brushed her short bangs to the side with an index finder that dwarfed her face.

"I believe you, Baby. You never have to grow up if you don't want to, but you do need to shape up your attitude a little." He tapped her nose sternly, but there was a soft smile creeping onto his lips. "You need to behave at school now, you hear me? None of this biting, and kicking, and name calling business. You will behave and listen to your teachers. Alright? If you can do that for me today, Mamma and I will take you out for ice cream tonight."

Mandy took a moment to respond as she thought about it, glancing about the ground at little grits of chipped concrete. To a five year old though, there wasn't much to contemplate when ice-cream was involved in the bartering. It was more likely she was only trying to decide on what flavor she would get when she completed her end of the deal.

"Okay Papa, bu' I get a big chocolate cone with lots and lots 'a sprinkles!"

"That's my girl!"

Mr. Morita straightened up and shot a glance toward the train. The shuttle hands were now signaling the on flow of boarders to the cars with whistles and hand signals of five fingers signaling the minutes till departure.

"Now, let's get you to your train Ms. Mandy."

Mrs. Morita's bright red heels clicked with each step she took over the concrete of the train station platform. Mandy always loved her mother's shoes. She had a pair in almost every color and each had a theatrically tall heel. The woman wore them almost everywhere and for any occasion even if it wasn't very practical.

Mandy in her small mind, always wondered how she managed to stay standing in them all the time. Her mother always had such good posture that seemed upright and natural, accentuating her delicate figure. Mandy couldn't help but admire her mother in the morning sunshine as she glanced back to see if her parents were still trialing her as she skipped along ahead of them. The way the sun shone off her mother's pale skin, and formed a halo around her blond hair, made her seem like an angel. Mandy could imagine her mother as an angel, sitting up in the clouds, or wherever it was divine beings reside, and strumming a harp of gold.

"Do you want me to hold your hand, Baby?" Mrs. Morita invitingly reached out her hand toward Mandy when she saw her glance back a second time. Mandy though, just turned on her heels again and continued to skip ahead with her little purple back pack bouncing lively against her back. She either was purposefully ignoring her parents now, or she was so enamored by her surroundings that she hadn't heard her through the noise of the station.

"Are you sure she is ready for this?" Mrs. Morita sighed when her husband took hold of her rejected hand. "I mean, we could always home school her for a year…"

"You know that wouldn't help, Erin. You'd just say the same thing next year. I say it's now or never."

"But she has to ride the train by herself!"

"She'll have a transport agent, Mrs. Stave, from the school keeping an eye on her. You're worrying about this too much."

"I, I know…" Mrs. Morita glanced for a moment into Mr. Morita's light brown eyes. "It's just…Well…Do you ever get those feelings like…"

"Like what?"

"Like something bad is going to happen?"

Mr. Morita only laughed lightly and loosened his grip on his wife's hand to coolly stick it in his pocket "Again Erin," he smiled at her briefly. "You worry too much."

When Mr. and Mrs. Morita came up to the train, their daughter was already excitedly standing below one of the windows, making faces at another little girl sitting in a window seat. The two seemed to have made a light hearted game out of it until Mandy's attention was diverted. A nearby train hand, with an over grown wiry mustache, suddenly blew a whistle and lifted a large megaphone from a strap on his belt. He fumbled with it a moment trying to adjust it, but his facial hair deemed it difficult to use the device.

"Three minutes till train 56A leaves the station. Last call for boarders. Tickets are required to be deposited into the ticket box located at the entry of all shuttle cars upon boarding. Thank you."

The megaphone clicked off with an unintentional screech.

Mr. and Mrs. Morita one after the other pulled their daughter into a tight hug. Mrs. Morita particularly took her time making sure to assure her daughter that she could always wait another year, but she was fruitless in her subtle attempts. When Mrs. Morita pulled away, a lady with a clipboard approached and detachedly introduced herself as Mrs. Stave, taking more interest in scribbling something on a document clipped to her clipboard than them. Mrs. Stave's young face and iron-curled locks of youthful black hair made her seem like the type of person who put business before pleasure. A little heartbroken, Mrs. Morita watched as her only child disappeared along with the other people into the shuttle car with the transport agent fallowing but a pace behind her.

As the shuttle doors automatically pulled shut, and the shuttle began to move, she saw a glimpse of Mandy sitting by a far back window. Her face was pressed against it and her breathing left a blur on the glass. Her eyes scanned the crowed until they caught sight of her parents. She smiled banging on the window as though she didn't already have their attention, and blew kisses with her little hands a few times in a silly manner as though she was a little movie star departing her fans.

Mrs. Morita couldn't help but let a smile creep onto her face as she returned the silly gesture until she could no longer see Mandy in window. She just left her hands to tangle together over her mouth and watched with a certain sense of emptiness till the shuttle disappeared.

She jumped a little when her husband's hand fell upon her shoulder. He was also still staring down the tracks, and even though he wasn't the type of man to show much emotion he seemed a bit sentimental as well.

"We'll be right here waiting for her when she gets back this afternoon." He reassured lightly, finally taking his eyes off from the distance. He made a quick glance at his watch and grimaced at it a dour expression. "We better go or we'll both miss work."

Mrs. Morita nodded taking a deep breath. She turned slowly linking an arm with her husband and moved through the crowd to the station exit.

It was cold and cloudy when the time came to finally come back to pick up Mandy. Mrs. Morita had been antsy all day, continuously checking the clock in her office and tapping her pencil against her desk. She felt like there was something off about the day, but then again, she was always a rather anxious person. It was something that her husband couldn't understand in the least.

Mr. Morita pulled his glasses off for a moment to clean a small smudge off one of the lenses with his shirt sleeve. His wife was pacing about near him with a vague but rather intense expression of some sort painted across her face. She was wringing her hands together as she paced, and her red pumps where making soft scuffing noises as she didn't even bother to pick up her feet.

"You're going to scuff your shoes Erin…" Mr. Morita mumbled, leveling the glasses to his eyes and looking over the clean lenses before he replaced them on to his face. After that, he briefly pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket and lit one. He brought it to his lips and puffed lightly on it. A few people nearby turned and glared at him unappreciatively. He didn't really seem to care though and continued without looking directly at any of them.

Mrs. Morita suddenly appeared beside him, sharply plucking the cigarette from his lips. She tossed it on the ground, and then proceeded to dig the toe of one of her shoes into it until it stopped smoking.

"You said you'd quit." she murmured crossing her arms and looking, not at him, but down the tracks. A shuttle was pulling in on the opposite side of the station across from them. She figured her daughter's train couldn't be too far behind.

"I did quit…But with my dad passing and my mother in the hospital with her condition getting worse..." He stopped momentarily pinching the bridge of his nose out of stressful habit. "The doctors called me today saying she only had a few days left. It's just stressing me out. I mean I knew it was going to happen anyway… I mean she's been nothing but a vegetable for years now."

Mrs. Morita felt a shiver of shame pass through her. She slowly uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around her husband loosely.

"Honey, I know it's hard but we need to be here for Mandy. I lost both my mom and dad in a car crash within months before I met you, and now my sister's marriage is falling apart. Bad things just happen sometimes. We have to pull through, and do our best. Mandy shouldn't have to suffer just because of our problems."

Mr. Morita nodded absently and lightly pulled his wife closer to him giving her a halfhearted, one armed squeeze.

Finally, after waiting on the station platform for a good twenty minutes, the sounds of a shuttle on the proper tracks in the distance captured both of their attentions. The crowd began to shuffle forward eagerly, and Mrs. Morita pulled on her husband's side to move closer to the edge of the platform as well.

"Come on, this is Mandy's train! I want her to see us as soon as soon as it pulls in!"

Mr. Morita was reluctantly dragged through the mass, muttering apologies to people his wife bumbled or startled with her overtly eager pace.

When they finally made it to a close distance of the platform drop off, Mrs. Morita let go of her husband's jacket and scanned down the line of windows of the approaching train. As it got closer, she caught sight of Mandy's small head leaning out of an open part of a shuttle window just above a serious looking Mrs. Stave, who was also looking out at the mother. A smile rapidly spread from cheek to cheek on Mrs. Morita's face, and the mother waved enthusiastically at her child who waved back with as much fervor.

"Erin, watch ou-!" The voice of her husband registered too late. A man standing beside Mrs. Morita suddenly turned, and the duffle bag slung across his shoulder collided with her back. Mrs. Morita let out a shocked cry of surprise and stumbled forward breaking a heel off of one of her shoes. Mr. Morita reached out for his wife with a look of utter horror.

Mandy saw everything from the shuttle window. Her father reached out to grab her mother, only for them both to tumble off the edge of the platform and onto the tracks. Then they disappeared from her view.

The shuttle's emergency brakes were put into action with a lengthy jolt. Mandy was thrown forward then back along with the rest of the passengers. She heard a thump and felt a sharp sting along the side of her face. The sudden stop had thrown her head against the side of the window.

Mandy opened her eyes to find herself staring at the dirty floor of the shuttle. A cold sweat over took her. Everything felt slow, like time was moving at half speed. She could feel every beat of her little heart in her chest echo loudly in her ears. She picked herself up and stumbled back to the window, felling into it as she did. Mandy suddenly noticed a line of red running down the front of her shirt and left arm, all the way to her hand. Terrified, she let out a high pitched wail as the sticky red stuff dripped from her fingertips.

The breathing in her chest was like a continuous, painful spasm, as she let on a wave of frightened tears. She heard screams of other children, and of adults as well around her. The ear piercing sounds were overwhelming and she stumbled back from the window. Vaguely, Mandy could feel Mrs. Stave's shaking hands upon her. She then found herself outside the train, surrounded by terrified shouting faces. There was a mad scramble of frightened looking people. Not one of them was her parents. Through the craze, the heaviest mass of humans was surrounding the ledge of the platform by the front end of the train like bees on a piece of honeycomb. Just behind them Mandy saw a glimpse of a broken red heel, but an onset of people blocked it from her view again.

Mandy found herself being held tightly by the transport agent as she tried desperately to pull away, and make it to the front of the train. There were strange officials and sounds now, and people on phones yelling into the receiver as they darted every which way.

"Mammaaaa! Paapaaa!" Mandy wailed. There was a wetness covering her cheeks and upper lip. She could feel a heavy coat of the blood, tears and nose run dripping into the corners of her mouth as she wailed. "I wanna' go by them! Why wo' you let me go to my Mamma and Papa! Where'd they go? Le' go of me!" But Mrs. Stave's hold only tightened around her entire body like she was trying to engulf her. There was a cold sting on the side of Mandy's head. The dark haired woman had pressed her face against the top of Mandy's head and her tears were sliding right through the girl's short hair and into her cut.

"You can't go to them right now!" Mrs. Stave blubbered letting go of the child's body to clasp her hands on either of her cheeks. She scanned across her face with her dark dilated pupils, eventually laying them upon the blood that was sluggishly crawling out from the cut on Mandy's head under the woman's hand. Trembling, the woman withdrew her hands with a horrified look burned upon her face.

Mandy then suddenly found herself picked up against her will by Mrs. Stave, and was carried into the station house, shrieking in wild hysteria. She didn't want this woman to hold her; she wanted her mother and father. Mrs. Stave was calling for medics and when she got to them they took Mandy from the woman's arms. _What is going on? Where are Mama and Papa?_

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***IMPORTANT***

**Author's note**: Hey guys if you have gotten this far I congratulate you! Most people seem to get turned off by OC's for their often Mary-Sue/ Gary-Stu qualities. Mother of god… Personally I hate Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus with a passion, a deep burning passion... So I try not to write them :3! Anyway I wanted to approach this fanfic a little differently than most others do. I suppose that it will be a bit AU from the game since it is supposed to be more real world and original, but then again I am going for a more genuine theme. But no worries, I am hoping to tie in some fabulous fantasy elements, and yes of course romance, but as in all good things in life, those come in time. The most important thing to me is message, character development and plot!

Now, to clear a few things up. Mandy Morita is the main OC! My story will be for the most part made up of them but that is for the story's own good; please don't hate me for it. I swear we will see some of our beloved HMTOT/AP characters littered throughout the story, with a few even taking center stage… *cough cough* Chase *cough*… Sorry I think I had something stuck in my throat there. I think it was an obvious mention of the main pairing or something..I da' know…

Another thing I want to make clear is that a large portion of this story may MAYBE take place in Japan. I don't live there, but hopefully if i use this setting, I can at least semi realistically portray it when the time comes. I don't watch anime so it's not like I'm obsessed with it for any of those reasons, but having done a bit of looking at the culture, I just feel like it could be a nice location for the story! Oh, also be sure to inform me if you see grammatical, spelling, etc mistakes of any kind.

Now, about Mandy again. Yes she is a quarter Japanese, but no, she doesn't really show it and she does not live in Japan…yet. Oh and she will not be 5 the whole story. This is just a prologue. I have yet to decide how old she will be the rest of the story but I'm looking at 17-18. That sound good? I won't know unless you say something in a review. In fact, if you have any ideas, leave them in your reviews! Who knows? If I like them you may see them used in the story. I would of course credit you too! What kinda person do you think I am!

Ok, as the rating implies there may be strong language, slight adult themes, and such (may go M later on). Let me know how you like the story and if you are  
reading along with a review and a telepathic hug! (No kisses though. That's just gross.) Anyway, this is my first real fanfic story, and I'm trying to get better at story telling in  
general, so I am always looking for good advice! My schedule is rather mean to me, so updates may be a bit slow, but please bear with me! I'll try do get chapters posted as  
quickly as I can, but without breaking away from the quality department.

_- XOXO Anandah (Snowbird18)_

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**Review questions!**

**1) How do you feel about Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus?**

**2) What's your favorite Harvest moon game and what's your favorite pairing? (Cannon or not doesn't matter)**

**3) What do you look for in a good fan-fiction?**


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